SAN PEDRO CITY — The third and final book of Dr. Jose Rizal reveals that the national hero, whose powerful literature inspired the 1896 revolution, also had a sense of humor.
“Haec est Sibylla Cumana” (This is the Sibyl of Cumae) is a game book referring to the sybil, or prophetess, of Cumae in Naples, one of the more popular Sybilline temples in the ancient world.
Rizal created the game book while teaching children during his 4-year exile in Dapitan from 1892-1896.
It was only in 2011, or after 115 years hidden as a family gem, that Rizal’s descendants decided to publish it as a replica of the original.
52 Questions
Unlike Rizal’s sociopolitical “Noli Me Tangere” or “El Filibusterismo,” the Sibylla Cumana is actually a parlor game book that portends a player’s fate in career, love or business.
“It’s a game book. It is not a novel,” said Butch Lopez-Villaruz, 67, the fourth generation grandson of Rizal’s older brother, Paciano.
In its current edition, which was released by Cruz Publishing in 2011, the Sibylla Cumana comes in a case.
There are two books (each measuring 9 by 7 inches) — one written in Spanish and the other in Filipino and English. Rizal himself drew the book cover, a portrait of Sibylla Cumana.
Villaruz said the family reproduced 2,000 “exact replicas of the original” and was translated to Filipino by renowned poet Virgilio Almario and to English by Gemma Cruz-Araneta, a descendant of Rizal’s sister, Maria.
The book poses 52 questions with eight possible answers for each.
Lighter side
Dr. Alphonso Lopez Pinto, another great grandson of Paciano, wrote in the book that Rizal may have created Sibylla Cumana in 1895.
Noted author Carmen Guerrero Cruz Nakpil, in the book’s introduction, wrote the game book “a panorama of Filipino thoughts, customs, interests and practices” toward the end of the 19th century.
“Maybe with this final gesture, Rizal was telling us not to be afraid of the future and was wishing us joy, a light heart and companionable group fun,” she said.